Fate versus free will
__TOC__ Purpose At various times in the series, characters suggested that a greater, unknown purpose guided their actions. There are many instances in which Locke in particular made this suggestion, such as the moment in in which he told his group they were "meant to" travel to Jacob's cabin, or the moment in when he yelled at his walkabout tour guide, "This is my destiny! I'm supposed to do this, damn it!" Characters often attributed purpose to fate, destiny, or the Island. Serendipity There are several times throughout the series in which particular circumstances suddenly arose and affected the characters' initial intentions. For instance, in , two pens failed to produce ink when Claire attempted to sign adoption papers in Australia, convincing her to keep the baby for the time being. Flashbacks revealed a series of events that lead Sayid to take Flight 815 instead of a later flight that he had initially intended to take. Similarly, a series of events seemed to conspire to keep Hurley and Frank off of Flight 815. At the airport in Australia, Shannon and Boone tried to get seats in first class, but the airline gate attendant denied their request. Once the plane has crashed onto the Island, Shannon suggests to Boone that the gate attendant saved their lives, as all of the passengers in the front of the plane were killed. Karma Karma is the belief that fate rewards and punishes past actions. In , Jin told Sun that he believed he was sent to the Island as a punishment, and Sun later asked Shannon if she believed that fate was punishing them. Claire responded that she didn't believe in fate. Changing destiny Freedom from others' influence Characters sometimes called freedom from others' influence "free will." Though freedom from deception and coercion differs from freedom from fate, these references recall the greater fate vs free will conflict. Fate, life and death Casual references Charlie wrote the word "fate" on his bandages soon after the crash and later changed it to "late." . The bandages reappeared in a dream sequence, and after death. When Widmore rejected Desmond, Penny flippantly said "I say we celebrate that fate has spared you a miserable existence under the employ of Widmore Industries." Juliet told a member of her bookclub "Here I am thinking that free will still actually exists..." Uncategorized * "I don't want to hear about how this is our purpose or destiny!" - Sun to Jack * Desmond tells Ms. Hawking, "I can choose whatever I want." However, she responds by saying, "You may not like your path, Desmond, but pushing that button is the only truly great thing that you will ever do." * Mother tells Claudia that, like her, she came to the Island by accident. * "We are here for a reason" - Mother to Jacob and the Boy in Black * "It will have to be one of you" - Mother to Jacob and the Boy in Black regarding guarding the Source * "It was always supposed to be you, Jacob." - Mother to Jacob * "I’m not going to pick. I want you to have the one thing that I was never given. A choice. - Jacob to Hurley * This is why I’m here. This is . . . this is what I’m supposed to do. - Jack to Jacob Trivia * The character names of John Locke, Desmond David Hume, Edmund Burke, Mikhail Bakunin, Danielle Rousseau and Gerald DeGroot are all drawn from philosophers prominent in the debate regarding the role of fate versus free will of the individual. * The frozen wheel, which resembles the dharmacakra, could also be said to resemble the Wheel of Fortune, a Roman and medieval symbol often represented in art and Western literature as eight-spoked. The goddess Fortuna as fate controlled the four stages of life and spun the wheel as she pleased. She was also known to favor the bold, complicating the distinction between destiny and free will. * The Fates of Greek and Roman mythology are depicted as spinning, measuring, and cutting thread to create a tangled web of humanity's fate. Jacob, who influences the fate of many of the characters on Lost, has been shown weaving thread into a tapestry. , See also *Coincidence * Regularly spoken phrases * Utopian Social Engineering * Philosophers es:Destino frente a libre albedrío fr:Destin et libre arbitre pt:Destino versus Livre Arbítrio Category:Recurring Themes